1985-04-15; Central Michigan Life

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Although Physical Plant officials say occasional smoke from
the Woodchip Plant is not a concern, a CMU professor claims the
problem may be serious.
Robert Aron, professor of geography, said a "very concentrated smoke with a burning wood smell" enveloped his neighborhood Wednesday for about 30 to 45 minutes. Aron lives at
1507 Briarwood St., just east of the Woodchip Plant.
Aron, who teaches a class on pollution, said the concentrated
smoke was a gray color and the result of two major factors.
"One problem is the smoke stack is not high enough," he said.
Because the stack is too low, Aron said a process called aerody
namic downwash occurs.
Aerodynamic downwash is similar to water running over a
log, he said. Smoke comes out of the stack and strong winds
coming from the west side of the plant pull it downward, causing
it to rollover the surrounding buildings.
Ahxn said to avoid the downwash, the stack must be 2 l/t times
the height of buildings around the plant.
"If you look at how high it (the woodchip bin) is with respect to
those stacks, you can see they have a higher stack," he said.
That would make the problem less severe."
The buoyancy of the smoke also is a problem. Aron said.
"Watching it, it has almost no buoyancy, it could even b«
called a negative buoyancy." he said. Aron said the smoke doe.
not rise and evaporate because it is too cool. He also said the
Woodchip
Monday, April 15,1985
smoke needs a much higher exit velocity than it currently has to
help of f set the downwash.
"If the smoke is dispersed higher into the air, it has more time
to disperse," he said. "It comes down but it's much, much later."
Another problem is the time of day the testing is being done
"Dispersion conditions are best during the day and worst at
night because during the day the sun rises, it heats the ground,
and the ground heats the air. There is more wind and better
dispersion," Aron said.
He said at night the ground is cooling and dispersion conditions are poor.
"Tests should be done during daytime," he said. "They're
maximizing the effect by testing at night."
♦See "Woodchip" — page 20
Parasailer knocks out power
byTOMWICKHAM
UFE Stafl Writer
For four years Timothy Cook
has been parasailing on land
and water. Saturday his hobby
almost cost him his life.
About 1.000 residents in the
Weidman area lost power for
five hours because of Cook's
close encounter with 46.000-
volt power lines, but the Ada
junior escaped with only minor
neck burns to remind him of
the hazardsofthe sport
Cook was parasailing with
four CMU students down
Whiteville Road north of Baseline Road when the accident
occurred at 3 p.m. After four
successful attempts at towing
the parachute 550 feet behind
the car Cook was making his
first flight of the day.
"During takeoff the towline
snapped and the wind blew me
back into the power lines,"
Cook said. "I was against the
power lines so I flipped my feet
over my head and the para
In Brief
Student Government Association elections
are Wednesday and Thursday. Polls are open
from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Students may cast their
votes in the Bovee University Center, Park
Library and Anspach and Pearce halls. See
candidate profiles pages 10 and 11.
Inside
The Isabella County United Way named
a new fund drive
chairman.
page 3
Officials say smoke
no cause for concern
bySTACEYPnTS
UFE Ass'L News Editor
According to officials associated with the Woodchip Plant,
there is no cause to be concerned about smoke recently
seen billowing from the stacks
of the plant.
Jon Macleod, assistant vice
president for plant management at the Physical Plant, said
the smoke is the result of a lack
of oxygen reaching the fire
when it is being extinguished
at the end of a testing day.
"The plant is in its early testing stages and during construction an occassional puff
of smoke can be seen when the
plant is being shut down," he
Smoke billowing from the Woodchip Plant Wednesday
evening led concerned residents to complain.
Macleod said the system is
not completely finished and
they are In the process of "getting the bugs out".
Kimberly Buchanan, air
quality division chemist for the
Department of Natural Resources in Lansing, said there
will not be an inspection of the
contents of the smoke until the
plant Is in full operation.    • •--'
Buchanan said probably the
only pollutant emitted tram tb*
♦See "Air" — page 13
Instructor evaluation report
to be presented to A-
chute was filled with air so I
floated down." Cook's parachute was undamaged in the incident.
Bryan Karrick, Clio sophomore, said they chose to para-
sail along Whiteville Road because there were few Obstacles. It was Karrick's first time
parasailing.
"We started about 70 feet upwind from the lines and he was
quite a ways up in the air," Karrick said. "When the line broke
|See "Power" — page 20
byTIMMcAVOY
UFE Staff Writer
A report from an Ad-Hoc
committee that gives instructors an instrument for evaluating their own performance will
go before the Academic Senate
Tuesday.
The report, a culmination of
a two year effort by the committee, gives the instructor an
instrument to solicit input
from his peers and students, as
well as a method for self evaluation.
"The intent of the committee
is to provide an instrument
with diagnostic information to
ascertain what he or she has
done," committee member
Barbara Dixon said.
"These are specifically designed to be diagnostic and
strictly used at the discretion
of the instructor," Dixon,
associate professor of music,
said.
The five-member committee
evolved as a result of the conclusions from a Senate Ad-Hoc
committee on Student Opinion
Surveys in May, 1983.
The committee deemed the
current Student Opinion Surveys inadequate.
The committee, in its conclusion, said the evaluations
should have three purposes:
provide the instructor with diagnostic information, provide
information to students for the
selection of classes, and to give
information that can be used
for decisions of tenure, promotion and reappointment.
The committee was formed
by the Senate on October 11,
1983 to create a standarized instrument to use in evaluating
instruction methods.
"The report was not intended
to be used as a substitute for
the Student Opinion Survey,"
Dixon said. "Whether the Senate wants to use it in that way is
entirely up to them."
Academic Senate Chairman
Roger Hatch said the Senate
would need to have a motion
♦See "Senate — page 20
MM I academics
to be discussed
Provost John Cantelon and Doug Friedrich, dean of graduate
studies, will go before the Academic Senate Tuesday to present
updated information and answer questions regarding the CMU
Michigan Molecular Institute merger.
Friedrich, member of a special advisory committee charged
with studying academic issues of the merger, said the two will
present information regarding funding, academic aspects of
the merger, and developments that will most likely occur in the
next few months.
"Provost Cantelon will deal with the funding and I will talk
about the academic issues and the timing aspect," Friedrich
said.
The presentation will be followed by a question and answer
period.
"The (Academic Senate) executive board asked Provost Cantelon and Doug Friedrich to make a presentation to the Senate
followed by questions about developments in the last year, and
estimates about what will happen in the next few months,"
Senate Chairman Roger Hatch said.
"There has not been a formal report to faculty about the
merger since the end of last year," Hatch s<iid.
The meeting, which is open to the public, will be at 3:30 p.m. in
Pearce138.
The CMU/MMI merger, approved by the Board of Trustees in
May, is intended to build CMU's research capabilities and create additional possibilities for degree-granting.
Three CMU mock
rock groups placed in
statewide competition.
page 6
Sports
CMU's   softball
squad placed second
at the Northern Iowa
tournament.
page 6
Weather
Partly sunny today.
Chance of showers
southeast. Highs in
the 60s. Partly cloudy
tonight. Lows in the
mid 30s to mid 40s.
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